ATM tampering ring busted in Durham Region, Ontario

Durham
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Durham Regional Police and the Ontario Provincial Police have been working almost a year to bust up an ATM tampering ring.

In the summer of 2009 Project Kaiser was launched after finding several devices in ATMS in Durham Region on ATM machines. The Durham Regional Police and the Ontario Provincial Police Identity Crime Unit focused on a small group of suspects who were manufacturing devices to be used by criminal networks in Ontario.

On March 18 raids were conducted simultaneously in Vaughan, Barrie and Newmarket resulting in the arrest of six people. The five males and one female arrested face more than 80 charges.

During the raids about 110 ATM overlay and pinhole camera devices were seized. Each device can cost a bank up to $100,000 in losses. Hundreds of debit cards and thousands of pieces of compromised electronic data were also seized. The officers also seized three vehicles under Proceeds of Crime legislation: a 2010 Porsche Cayenne; a 2010 Dodge Magnum and a 2001 Volkswagen Jetta. Other items taken into evidence were worth about $100,000 including power tools and electronic games. The authorities also recovered items used to disguise the suspects near the ATM security cameras.

Sebastin Bihari, age 35, of Ford Wilson Boulevard in Newmarket, Ontario, Lemak Bary, age 23, of Ford Wilson Boulevard in Newmarket, Ontario, Geza De Breceni, age 50, of Torresdale Avenue, North York, Ontario, Nyla Pejhan, age 23, of Tester Lane, Zephyr, Ontario (female), Gabor Lakatos, age 25 of Pegasus Drive, Richmond Hill, Ontario and Jozsef Lakatos, age 46, of Morris Road, Bradford, Ontario were all arrested on various charges including participating in a Criminal Organization.

“Identity theft and accessing personal electronic accounts is a growing concern for law enforcement agencies across the world,” says DRPS Superintendent of Regional Support Jim Douglass, “The amount of money that potentially can be made is staggering, but the good news is our ability to detect and investigate these crimes is also growing.”

Anyone with new information about this investigation is asked to contact Det. Jay Shaddick of the DRPS Fraud Unit at 1-888-579-1520 ext. 5281. Anonymous tips can be made to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or on the website at www.durhamregionalcrimestoppers.ca and tipsters are eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000.